Just Back and Have Some Gossip

[DonnaL]

Count me in with the above posters who said CRV wouldn't appeal to them....me neither. However, I can't wait for VAKL and we just love VWL (it's our FIRST home resort with SSR being our add-on) however, we're thinking at some point over the next year or two we may sell the SSR points and buy an equal amount of VWL points at VAKL. So, it's really all a matter of personal preference......SSR is a beautiful resort, but, to our family it just doesn't give us the feeling that VWL does and everytime we visit AKL (never stayed there though) we get the same feeling. CRV just doesn't do anything for me.......CR actually makes me feel like I'm in a pop art time warp. However, DH does have fond feelings for CR, but, I think that's because when he was little he remembers his mother (who loved all things "new and shiny") continually talking how one day she would love to visit WDW and stay at the "new hotel with the monorail going right through it". Unfortunately, she never did get to visit WDW since she passed away in the late 70's before having the chance to visit.

 

[CR Resort Fan 4 Life]

asianway,
Great description of the Contemporary and how it is a much better Resort and it's to bad other people don't give it the credit it should get and deserves.

 

[Disney Doll]

I wasn't meaning this as a thread to bash the Contemporary...nor do I think anyone is "bashing" so much as stating preferences. I have fond feelings for the CR from a nostalgic point of view. It was one of the original hotels, I can remember as a kid going through the building on the monorail thinking it was the absolute coolest thing I would ever do. asianway's explanation of the original "theme" for the Contemporary clears up a lot of stuff, and I am also glad that it seems that they are getting back to the original thinking.

It is just my personal preference not to be quite so "in the thick" of things when I am on vacation. My DVC home resort is OKW, so I prefer that more relaxed pace that still has the Disney feel, and for me, OKW combines relaxed with Disney very well. VWL does too, but they weren't built when we bought OKW and when VWL was built, we didn't have the funds to purchase more points there. Thankfully we have been able to stay there a few times over the years, which is a treat for us.

I like the BC/YC area, but that may be because it has sentimental value....DH & I honeymooned there. But even that area, with all the hustle bustle of the Boardwalk, can sometimes be a bit overwhelming. We do like staying there for the F&W or Flower & Garden festivals, because of the proximity to Epcot and being able to walk in & out to enjoy those special events.

Having stayed at AKL, I will say that buying DVC points there doesn't appeal to me, again because the themeing of the resort doesn't appeal to me...I'm really not into that whole African thing. Enjoyed staying there for a few nights, enjoyed seeing the animals, enjoyed the Uzima pool complex, but I can't see wanting to buy points there. Just personal preference...nothing against anyone else who enjoys that area and themeing.

Just got back from SSR...again a lovely resort, enjoyed the pool, the room was nice. The biggest issue I had with SSR was, agaon, the themeing. I live in CT, so upstate NY is very close to what my home area is like. The furnishings at SSR, while absolutely gorgeous, are the kind of furnishings I see around here where I live, so I didn't quite so much feel like I was on vacation. Staying at OKW, with it's tropical theme, light furnishings, palm trees, relaxed atmosphere....that says "vacation" to me. It's kind of like staying at Coronado Springs for some people. If you live in Arizona or New Mexico, CSR is like where you live, so it seems a little less like vacation. But someone from the Southwest would probably love VWL or SSR, because they are so different from what they would be used to.

That's really the beauty of DVC...there is something for everyone.

 

[maburke]

asianway, thanks for all that information. It seems to me, though, that the Contemporary pre-dates Space Mountain. At least that's what I recall from my visit in about 1972?

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To speak for a moment on the exterior architecture, the Contemporary was built to echo Tomorrowland as it rose over the horizon as you look past Space Mountain. In that respect, I think it captures that image perfectly. Unless of course you consider Space Mountain dated, which I think will always be a classic.

 

[Disney Doll]

asianway, thanks for all that information. It seems to me, though, that the Contemporary pre-dates Space Mountain. At least that's what I recall from my visit in about 1972?

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Even if it does predate it as far as the actual time it was built, I am sure Disney pretty much knew that over there would be Tomoorowland and Space Mountain and they would want a hotel that had that sort of "futuristic" look, since it would be visible from Tomorrowland.

 

[asianway]

Take a look at ebay auction 150116490681 for a poster that illustrates Space Mountain prior to being built, it was part of the master plan.

 

[Disney Doll]

Disney does very little by chance, so I am quite sure that Space Mountain was conceived long before being built, as asianway's posts have verified.

When we went on the Keys to the Kingdom tour one year, I recall the guide saying that the MK was planned so that pretty much no other "land" was visible from any other land, from the ground. Now of course, if you go up into the air, like right before the Splash Mountain drop, you will see some of the taller stuff from elsewhere in the park. The guide went on to say that the CR was the only thing that was not actually in the MK that was planned to "fit" into the Tomorrowland theme because they realized it would be visible from Tomorrowland in the MK.

Kind of interesting...

 

[DonnaL]

I didn't mean to sound like I was bashing the CR either. It's simply that as a personal preference I don't care for the decor and theming.....I'm quite sure there are many others who do and that's great....it's their personal preference. We've never stayed there, but, as I stated in my earlier post my DH does have fond feelings for the CR because he always remembers his mother saying she would like to stay there sometime, so as DVC members, if a DVC is built there I'm sure we will, at some point, stay there on one of our trips. We both love VWL and as far as the rest of the onsite DVC's, we've stayed at SSR, BWV and in a few weeks we're at OKW for the first time. Haven't stayed at BCV and really don't feel as if we're missing anything there, either, but, I'm sure we will at some point, stay there also.